Blue Zone committee comes to Cedar Rapids

Eleven cities in Iowa remain, but only three will be named blue zone communities.

Thursday morning a Blue Zone selection committee heard pitches from Cedar Rapids leaders on why the city should be named a Blue Zone community.

The winning cities will get expert consultation on how to improve environments to create healthier lifestyles.

Cedar Rapids officials believe they are in a good position to gain the designation.

"We've already started to implement some of the policies that they would be looking at as far as whether they would award us a Blue Zone, such as more trails in the community and more biking lanes on streets," Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett said.